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20,000 Cables Under the Sea: The Internet and the Physics of Fiber Optics

43 minutes 42 seconds
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The Internet's mind-boggling flow of data that circulates so freely "in the cloud" does much of its real-world traveling beneath the sea in bundles of fiber-optic cable. Sets sail on the Leon Thevenin as a repair team identifies a damaged length of cable on the floor of the North Sea and then painstakingly splices in a new section. Also, discusses high-bandwidth digital developments such as naked-eye 3-D video and describes the principles of applied fiber-optic physics, cable-manufacturing processes, and cable-laying techniques that are making such advanced Internet technology a reality.

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Runtime: 43 minutes 42 seconds

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